Atmospheric pollution is a concern of increasing importance as the levels of various atmospheric pollutants continue to increase. One primary pollutant of concern is ozone. Ozone is a molecule that consists of three oxygen atoms. Naturally-occurring ozone is formed miles above the earth in the stratosphere. This ozone layer is responsible for absorbing the majority of the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation. Ground level ozone is produced by the reactions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the presence of direct sunlight. The main sources of nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compound gases are mobile emissions, industrial factories, electrical plants, chemical solvents, and gasoline vapors.
Near the stratosphere, aircraft may be affected by various pollutants. For example, aircraft environmental control system (“ECS”) supplies periodically contain high levels of ozone and volatile organic compound (“VOC”) contaminants that are harmful/undesirable for passengers in the aircraft cabin or cockpit. Current aircraft cabin air catalyst converters contain high levels of precious metal including both palladium and platinum designed for ozone and VOC reduction respectively, which can be considerably costly to produce and maintain.
At the ground level, pollution control is also performed by direct treatment of ozone and other contaminants at ground level utilizing vehicle heat exchangers. In these processes, ozone in the air that passes over catalyst coated surfaces, such as radiators, convert ozone molecules into oxygen molecules. These processes capitalize on the large volume of air that passes through a vehicle's radiator.
There continues to be a need for systems, methods, and compositions for effectively treating pollution at ground level and at high altitudes. These methods and compositions should exhibit long term performance, efficient manufacturing operations, and reduced production costs.